AP College Basketball Poll 2019: Complete Week 9 Rankings Released

The men's college basketball season achieved some measure of stability at the top of the Associated Press poll as Gonzaga maintained its hold on the No. 1 spot for the second straight week.

However, Ohio State and Louisville dropped from the Top Three after losses to West Virginia and Kentucky, respectively.

Therefore, one of the most chaotic men's college hoops seasons in recent memory continued as 2019 comes to an end.

Of note, six teams have assumed the No. 1 perch this season, but losses have dropped Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke, Louisville and Kansas from those spots. No team has been on top for more than two weeks.

We'll soon find out if Gonzaga can be the first team this season to maintain a No. 1 hold for three weeks, but until then, here's a look at the Week 9 Associated Press poll with some notes on some of Division I's top teams.

Gonzaga didn't leave any doubt about its No. 1 ranking after scoring 64 first-half points en route to beating Eastern Washington 112-77 in its lone game last week. Filip Petrusev dropped 24 points in just 25 minutes, and Admon Gilder added 22 off the bench.

The Bulldogs may be on top for a while. They are the most efficient offensive team in the nation, per KenPom.com, thanks in part to leading scorer Petrusev and his 16.7 points per game on 53.8 percent shooting. Gonzaga shoots 50.2 percent as a team and 39.2 percent from the three-point line.

The Bulldogs are clear favorites against Detroit, Portland and Pepperdine this week. Wins in those three should make them the first team this season to stay at No. 1 for three weeks.

But Gonzaga generally plays a far easier schedule than other Top 25 teams given its mid-major spot in the Western Coast Conference.

The conference is a prime candidate to send three teams to the NCAA tournament, with Saint Mary's and BYU ranked 26th and 38th, respectively, in the latest KenPom list.

However, no one else is in the Top 75, and Gonzaga will largely avoid Saint Mary's and BYU until early February, with the home BYU matchup Jan. 18. The Bulldogs will have home and road matchups against the Gaels and will pay a visit to the Cougars.

The rest of the Top 10 saw some movement due to the Ohio State and Louisville losses.

The Blue Devils' lone loss was a 85-83 overtime upset defeat to Stephen F. Austin, although the 11-2 Lumberjacks may be positioning themselves as an NCAA tournament sleeper team come March thanks to their good start. Duke has largely impressed, also taking down Kansas and Michigan State.

Elsewhere, Memphis beat New Orleans 97-55, although the Tigers' performance sans potential No. 1 NBA draft pick James Wiseman will be one to watch as the season goes along. Wiseman withdrew from school Dec. 19 to focus on his NBA preparations.

The pollsters don't have as much respect for undefeated Auburn and San Diego State as one might think. Those two have thus far survived the gauntlet that is the 2019-20 season as the only unscathed teams. Still, the Tigers and Aztecs are outside of the Top Five heading into the 2020 calendar year.